Grove cranes support infrastructure growth in the Philippines

MDC Equipment Solutions (MEQ), the equipment supply subsidiary of Filipino construction giant Makati Development Corporation (MDC), has added a number of Manitowoc-brand cranes to its fleet. The growing MEQ fleet now includes a team of 28 Grove mobile cranes, an increasingly prominent brand in the MEQ equipment mix. The most recent arrivals are four RT530E-2 rough-terrain cranes; while two TMS700E truck cranes and a GMK5220 all-terrain crane have also been added in recent months.

The RT530E-2 rough-terrain cranes and the TMS700E truck-mounted cranes are used at the MDC precast plant in San Felix, Laguna, to handle concrete sections. When not required for this, they are used on job sites for a variety of construction work. The RT530E-2 cranes are also used to support the GMK5220 in its primary function: assembling tower cranes.

Jose Magajes, head of operations at MEQ, said conditions at the company’s precast yard made the RT530E-2 a natural choice.

"When it rains our yard becomes muddy, so I prefer to use rough-terrain cranes for the lifting work. We have mostly deployed our RT530E-2 cranes at the staging areas of the plants, where we use them to handle rebar and formwork, as well as finished precast sections," he says.

Like all Grove rough-terrain cranes the RT530E-2 features rugged, deep-box section frames for better performance in tough conditions. The crane has a maximum capacity of 30 t, a main boom length of 29 m and a maximum tip height of 44.5 m when working with its full jib attachment. Four steering modes allow easy maneuvering in tight quarters, while it also performs well when lifting on tires, making it ideal for pick-and-carry work. These qualities, as well as the RT530E-2’s famed reliability, are what persuaded Magajes to purchase the cranes for MEQ.

“I know Grove cranes are reliable and backed by Manitowoc Crane Care, which is always good,” he said. “We could have opted for cheaper options at this capacity, but we knew the RT530E-2 was the right choice for us.”

MDC was established in 1974. It is the construction arm of leading Philippines real estate company, Ayala Land. MDC’s projects include mixed-use, commercial and residential developments, such as offices, hotels, resorts, shopping malls, public housing, condominiums, townships and hospitals. Till date, it has completed over 400 projects.

MEQ, now in its 4th year of operation, continues to grow and is currently one of the country’s leading equipment solutions providers. MEQ provides construction equipment for hundreds of MDC projects across the Philippines, and the fleet currently numbers more than a thousand machines.